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Milestones: #4 Awake, O Sleeper!

Today, I continue to gather 7 specific life/ministry milestones, and stack them as an altar of worship and gratitude to God.

Milestone #4 is a scripture that has come alive in your heart to guide/shape your life.

Over the years, Jesus has brought many words of Scripture alive in my heart to guide and shape my life. Just a few that come to mind... Psalm 30:11-12... Isaiah 43:19... 1 Peter 1:6-7... Matthew 7:12...

Just over a year ago, God very clearly called me, and my family, to relocate and plant a new church. It's been a year of praying, pastoring, and preparing. Earlier this year we began to pray specifically about what this new mission would be called. As we prayed and brainstormed, I continued seeking God though His Word. In studying the letter of Ephesians, in the New Testament, this passage jumped right out of the writer's charge to this ancient church to live as "Children of Light" in a dark world, relying upon God's Holy Spirit guidance into relationships:

...for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light." -Ephesians 5:14

God's calling in my life was a wake-up call. The call to plant a new church was a wake-up call. The call to move out of my own comfort zone was a wake-up call.

But this wasn't a call just for me. This is the call of Christ to everyone. To be awakened, to rise up from the death-like existence that we grow all too comfortable in. To live wide awake - not to a religion or a tradition - but to a relationship with the One who is Light!

My private interaction with these Words began to grow in a public way of life. With new passion awakened within me, Jesus began to weave these Words into every aspect of my life. Conversations, what I was reading, sermons I was preaching, and especially the songs I would hear. To date, I have compiled 2 "Awaken" mix CDs of songs that have been keeping this Scripture alive in my heart, guiding and shaping my life (holla if you want the playlists).

Also, this is how we came to settle on the name for this new mission: Awaken Church. But more on that in the next blog entry.

What is a scripture that has come alive in your heart to guide/shape your life?

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